The Lagos Chamber of Commerce and Industry (LCCI) has expressed support for President Bola Ahmed Tinubu's efforts to revitalize Nigeria's manufacturing sector. In a statement, LCCI President, Mr. Leye Kupoluyi, welcomed Tinubu's commitment to bringing factories back to life, utilizing Nigeria's gas resources to power industries, and improving access to infrastructure and finance. This move is expected to promote Nigerian-made products and drive economic growth.
According to Kupoluyi, Nigeria cannot achieve mass employment and broad-based prosperity without a strong manufacturing and industrial base. The LCCI has urged the federal government to take concrete steps to reduce industrial energy costs, improve electricity reliability, and accelerate gas-to-industry projects. These measures are crucial to creating a competitive business environment that supports enterprise prosperity.
The LCCI President emphasized that a competitive manufacturing sector can address several of Nigeria's challenges, including employment, productivity, import dependence, export diversification, technology transfer, and government revenue. He noted that the transition from economic reform to prosperity must be measured by the extent to which Nigerian businesses can invest, produce, employ, compete, and expand.
Kupoluyi stated that the business community is looking for the next phase of the economic program to focus on reducing the cost of doing business, expanding productive capacity, and creating an environment in which investment decisions can be made with greater confidence. He identified lowering the high cost of doing business as a major economic challenge facing Nigerian businesses.
The high cost of doing business in Nigeria is attributed to various factors, including energy costs, transportation, multiple taxation, infrastructure gaps, financing costs, regulatory charges, insecurity, and logistics inefficiencies. The LCCI believes that the next phase of government policy should prioritize enterprise competitiveness in economic management.
To achieve this, the LCCI has called on the government to address the infrastructure deficit in industrial clusters, improve access to working capital for SMEs, reduce regulatory and administrative costs, and strengthen local supply chains. The chamber also recommends promoting exports of manufactured and processed Nigerian products and preventing policy measures that unintentionally increase production costs.
The LCCI's suggestions aim to create a conducive business environment that will enable Nigerian businesses to thrive and contribute to the country's economic growth. By implementing these measures, the government can promote a strong manufacturing and industrial base, which is essential for achieving mass employment and broad-based prosperity in Nigeria.
Key points
- A competitive manufacturing sector can address several of Nigeria's challenges, including employment, productivity, and export diversification.
- The LCCI has urged the government to reduce industrial energy costs, improve electricity reliability, and accelerate gas-to-industry projects.
- Lowering the high cost of doing business is a major economic challenge facing Nigerian businesses.
